Mirrored Vision
by C hi BA ri
Summary: Eagle never gave much thought as to what he would do when his beloved weds his best friend. As the inevitable takes place in Cephiro before his very eyes, he is forced to accept their marriage and come into grips with himself and his desires.


Mirrored Vision

**Summary****:**

**- Following the manga, this story takes place two years after the battle for Cephiro –**

**Eagle never gave much thought as to what he would do when his beloved weds his best friend. As the inevitable takes place in Cephiro before his very eyes, he is forced to accept their marriage and come into grips with himself and his desires. **

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Rayearth.

The wedding ceremony was over.

The sight of his two friends making their way down the flowered path was a joyous one, yet equally heart-wrenching.

"Hikaru," he whispered, secretly wishing she'd hear him and realize that he was the one for her. On the other hand, he felt she deserved some happiness, even if it didn't quite fit in with his.

Glancing around, Eagle saw faces—faces that gleamed like the Cephiro sun. Even the trees were laughing, swaying along to the music of the gentle breeze suspended in the atmosphere.

He smiled at the couple as they passed by and wished them good will.

As soon as they had turn away, his grin dropped like a mask.

He secluded himself to a shady spot hidden beneath the branches of a blossoming wisteria. Silently scolding himself for being selfish and envious, he shut his eyes and attempted to obtain a few moment's peace.

His mind was wary, however, and would not let him rest. It troubled him with events he was not so proud of prior to his arrival.

While he pondered on these unhappy thoughts, a faint melody reached his ears.

"You are like the fast wind that sweeps across the surface of the ocean…"

Not having to look back, he instantly knew it was Fuu.

"And all the dreams you have always taken care of…"

It was disturbing to find that that song had become the story of his love life. His longing to find that one person who'd matter more to him than anyone else in the world had brought forth nothing but regret.

"And now as I see you…"

He felt a hand fall on his shoulder.

Turning to his side, Eagle felt his blood rise. She was the last person he'd like to see. His childhood "acquaintance," as he put it. He didn't see much point in referring to her as a friend; he hardly knew her.

She was looking at him awkwardly as if to ask, "What's wrong?" even though it was obvious he was displeased of her presence.

Unable to find the words, she admitted, "Your mother told me to come get you."

"I don't need a babysitter," he muttered.

"I know," she said, gawking at him despondently, "but it's my job. I'm your bodyguard." When he didn't say anything, she asked, "So how are you taking this?"

"What?" he queried.

"That," she said, nodding in the direction of the party, "You didn't tell her."

"I couldn't."

"Oh," she murmured, looking diffidently away. "I'm sorry, then.

"For what?"

"Being nosy, I guess."

He hated being around her. She was filled with irksome curiosity, something that should've left when one entered adulthood. But here she was, a year younger than he and still in awe.

If his mother thinks he'll fall for this…stranger, she was in for a rude awakening.

The song had ended.

How long had he been standing here?

He decided he should get back to the others, but there was the question of what to do with the bodyguard.

She was strolling into a bed of flowers. As if feeling obliged to answer the look he gave her, she stated bashfully, "There aren't very many of these in our country. I just thought I'd take a closer look."

He felt a sudden change of mood and allowed a small smile to grace his grim façade. "Let's go."

He was already a few steps ahead before taking into mind that she wasn't following.

"No, it's all right," she said. "I'll stay."

"Are you sure?" he asked, hesitantly. It was true he'd rather she stays away but, normally—and not to brag—she'd follow him everywhere.

"Yeah," she assured him, directing her attention back to the plant life. "I'm not very good around new people."

He glowered at her and reluctantly turned to leave.

(Ballroom)

Eagle stared at the ceiling, trying to piece his thoughts together. He felt different from those around him—shut out—because of his moody disposition.

As he looked on from one person to the next, he came to recognize that loss of happiness in his heart and began to claw at the loneliness that had taken its place. He envied their carefree ways and could feel the jealousy slowly eating away at him.

Maybe, he thought, he should've taken Geo's advice and dated more. The total lack of contact with the opposite sex must have made him inept at turning down girls directly. He figured that was why _she _was always trying to cut in between the time he had with his friends, but he considered she may just have been doing what her job expected of her.

As he thought more about it, he decided she wasn't really a bad person. What completely stupefied him was that she had never tried to make herself known.

He began to feel terrible about leaving her out there in the dark while he basked in the warmth of the lit castle. Though she had insisted he go right along without her, something told him he ought to have been a little nicer about her turn up in Cephiro.

Sighing at having lost a battle to his better judgment, Eagle made up his mind about heading back. He didn't want to confront her, but his guilty conscience gave him no choice.

Seeing as how everyone was having too much fun to notice him, he slipped out the front door and headed for the site where he'd last seen her.

(Outside)

A cool wind swept across his face whilst he walked along the path leading away from the castle and into the forest. Before he had even delved ten feet into the trees, something sparkled high above his head a few distances away.

The silhouetted structure seemed familiar and Eagle edged closer to uncover its identity. Reaching it, he saw the means of his bodyguard's prompt appearance. Scowling, he entered the activation code and made some changes to the system's control.

…

Brushing past several bushes, he spied her sitting on the hood of his hover car twisting her long hair into tight braids.

She turned abruptly, hearing him.

"Oh," she said, mildly surprised. "You're back."

He strolled over and looked at her with tired eyes. She broke off their eye contact and took to fiddling with her golden strands.

"Why do you do that?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied, still avoiding his gaze and staring down at the hands folded on her lap.

He motioned for her to move over and sat down. "So what have you been doing all this time?"

"Looking."

"At what?" he inquired.

"Everything," she replied, now looking up at the sky. "Have you noticed how blue and green this place is? I've never seen anything like this in Autozam."

"No," he concurred, "but you will."

"I hope so." She paused for a moment. "So why are you here? You're missing the party."

"You want me to leave?"

"No," she almost shouted. "It's just…I don't know—I thought you didn't like being around me."

"Why would you think that?" She didn't answer. "I don't hate you," he protested.

"True," she mused, "but you don't like me any better."

He searched fervently for an answer to her remark but nothing that came to mind seemed presentable enough. He felt her palm fall on his hand and immediately jerked it away. She leapt back, startled by his sudden hostility.

"I'm sorry," she pleaded. "You were just so quiet. I wanted to see if you were okay."

He paid no attention to her, thinking about the sensation that took place when she crawled over. The warmth of her touch burned into his skin, making him feel muggy and uncomfortable.

Lost for words, they soon lapsed into silence.

They played the tranquility a bit longer, but it was becoming harder to not acknowledge each other. A benefit to this was that they were able to reflect on their limited interaction.

"Why don't we speak anymore?" she wondered aloud.

Why didn't they speak anymore? Why was communication between them so sparse? Was eleven years too long a time to have caused them to become so different?

"Things…change," he stammered.

"How?" she pressed.

Once again, he found himself incapable of answering. She examined him closely, searching for any signs of weaknesses she can use to penetrate his inner thoughts. The added pressure wasn't exactly aiding him in explaining his theory on the matter.

Still, he persisted to satisfy her curiosity.

"We have nothing in common."

"Nothing at all?" she asked, looking at him skeptically. "I can hardly believe that."

"It's the truth."

"Really? Is that what you think?"

"That's what I know."

"I see," she murmured, looking disappointed. "Is that why we're not friends?"

"We're not because you don't want to be." He noticed her eyes watered and added gently, "Tell me why you're really here."

She refused to confide in him but the full extent of his gold spheres gradually broke her down and she soon found herself unable to retain her intentions any longer.

The words spoken flew by quickly but were understandable. At the end of her confession, she watched him deliberate out of the far corners of her eyes. He noticed they were once more blazing like an inferno—shame he had to put them out. He looked with sympathy on her, aware of the hurt that he would have to inflict upon his already flustered colleague.

"I can't be with you."

She withdrew into her protective shell.

Rejection, he figured. It would pass. She'll be fine. She'd eventually find someone else. Someone who'll share the same feelings. Someone who would care…

But perhaps it was because he pitied the girl that he suddenly felt his arms wrap about her. It felt…strange to be thinking one thing and doing another. Maybe he just wanted to check on her temperament.

The same thing was obviously sprinting across her mind as they pulled closer. She glanced up at him and matched her bafflement with his.

He dropped his hold on her and contemplated on the cause of his unusual behavior. "Sorry," he muttered.

She hung her head, letting her locks slide between them—creating a wall, a sort of barrier—to obscure his view of the blood rushing to her cheeks. She ventured away to a far-off place, and was soon so distant and remote that she didn't hear him call her.

He seized her by the shoulders and forced his eyes upon hers. Why they weren't so different after all. He saw, reflected in those shiny orbs, the vision of himself—of one vacant and emaciated.

She shot away from the vehicle, glaring at him as if she couldn't decide whether to be hurt or angry. Her chest heaved up and down slowly as she sought to compose herself.

Eagle frowned. He was sure a moment ago that she would start shouting at him. The sudden pounding in his ears and rush of adrenaline made him wish that they were in a quarrel. It was the same feeling he'd always have when in combat or facing an adversary—a lust to devastate his opponent using whatever tactics hurdled into his mind.

She did not fight the ice, but smiled apologetically and pushed her way past the foliage. He heard her say it even before she had opened her mouth to tell him. "I'm going home."

A funny thing slipped into his head. For the first time, he noticed that she hadn't opposed him once in all of the time that they'd been living together.

And, as if in response, he heard his mother speaking to him…

…

He'd been sitting for at least an hour on a large bough. How long would it take for her to realize that he changed the password to the FTO and come back? Alas, he grew tired of waiting and left his post to seek her.

As he headed for his mecha, Eagle asked himself over and over why he was tailing the girl if he was convinced that she was only a distant colleague and nothing more. Yet nothing could arouse him out of his hypnotic walk; it was as if his legs had suddenly taken to walking on their own. His consciousness was lost somewhere.

Obviously, he was lost—so lost in thought that he had walked right into her, causing them both to lose balance. They hit the ground with a thud.

He lifted himself off the leaf-strewn earth and extended a hand to pull her to her feet. She took it but did not seem very grateful. In fact, if he hadn't known better he'd say she was a tad distraught to see him again.

"Thank you," she said almost breathlessly, shrinking back and blushing.

"You're welcome," he responded genially, as if they were the best of friends and the prior ordeal between them had never taken place. She nodded and sank to the forest floor, forgetting that that was the whole reason he had helped her up a moment ago.

"It's locked," she said quietly.

His jaw muscles tightened. "Why didn't you come back?"

"Why would I?" she demanded a little impatiently. "You wanted me to leave and I did. Unfortunately, I had no idea that you intended to have me stranded in this country."

He was a bit taken back. She never talked back to him with such defiance.

In his hurry to placate her, he came out with an assertion that only made the tension between them intensify. "I wasn't sure about something so I wanted to keep you here until I'd sorted out my thoughts," he truthfully replied.

"I see," she mused. "So you purposely delayed my departure to figure out your little experiment. I didn't think you could be so manipulative but what do I know? I believed you were someone else at one point, but you've managed to prove me wrong yet again."

He couldn't take it. "Why are you being so difficult?" he replied angrily. "Tell me, did you honestly think that all this time I've been harboring some elaborate plot just to drive you mad? Did you think I had nothing better to do than to obsess about how I'm going to make you miserable?"

"You sure do play the part."

He hated how she came back at him with some of the most ridiculous, smart-mouthed responses. He never really did know how to deal with her cynicism. They were rare, but were enough to throw him off balance.

"Why are you angry with me?" he supplicated.

She pulled her legs toward her chest and encircled her arms around them. "I'm not. I'm angry with myself."

"Why?"

"Because I convinced myself to believe in something that I knew was impossible from the very beginning," she said, staring into a compact object clutched firmly in her hand. "I feel…stupid."

He didn't pay much attention to it at first but now, through further inspection, he saw that it was an army tag with his surname engraved upon it.

Seeing that, Eagle vaguely remembered how he had lost hers when they were kids and had given her his father's tag to compensate for her missing one.

Memories from eleven years past came to him at full speed.

"Would you like it back?" she asked, holding it out at arm's length.

"No," he said. "Keep it."

He felt her shudder reverberate unto him. And he concluded that it was the first time he'd seen her cry. But it was like watching a doll; her face remained in the same stoic expression. What evidence was there to prove that she was feeling anything at all?

With a sweep of her hand, she rubbed away what was left of the tears from her eyes. Her action was similar to that of a child embarrassed of being seen as vulnerable.

Eagle sighed and tugged her in the direction of the FTO. "Come on. I'll help you."

…

He removed the lock on the mecha and adjusted some of its settings. He then strapped her in with care and was ready to see her off when he looked up and met her eyes another time.

She cast them away as they began to brim with tears.

He did not know what to feel. He knew that she had loved him and he had gone out of his way to dissuade her from doing so, but the effort was fruitless. He had hurt her more than he had been aware of.

He wondered how she could still love him. Perhaps they were more similar than he had wanted to believe.

She sniffed and brushed the back of a hand against the side of her face. He caught her wrist as she brought it back down and they were locked in another encounter.

Their faces drew closer and stopped about an inch from each other as the realization of what was taking place struck them both. She studied him curiously as he gazed with hunger at what could've been had he just let his instincts take over in lieu of reason. But as he thought more of it, he remembered his feelings for a certain redhead.

Did he want to move on?

Eagle turned aside, his eyes screwed with concentration. He wasn't sure of what he wanted. His desire for love compelled him to give in to this strange, new interest, but his mind and heart were not ready to let go of his first object of affection.

He brought himself to face her and tell of his uncertainty, but was lost in the intensity of her stare. She took hold of his hands and held them tenderly entwined with hers. "I can wait."


End file.
